(Vanity) The Mitt Romney Doomsday Scenario

[GLDNGUN]

Mitt Romney running as a independent in the 2016 general Presidential election is quickly becoming a very strong possibility, folks. The scary and nearly unthinkable result is that he could end up not just denying Donald Trump the Presidency but could become President himself. Think I'm crazy? Take a closer look.

[GLDNGUN]

Most likely he would just elect Hillary.

Yes, that would certainly be a possibility, or whoever the dem nominee is.

[GLDNGUN]

What happened to the no 3rd party pledge?

You mean the one that Mitt Romney didn't sign?

[GLDNGUN]

You don’t consider the future prospects of such a perversion of the voters by a Party.
Maybe 10 Congressmen would be happy with only two more years in the House.

I think a lot of GOP members would take their chances, rather than have to deal with a Trump presidency.

[GLDNGUN]

He’ll split the Hillary vote, not the Trump vote. Let him run.

Wishful thinking there.

[GLDNGUN]

That’s so absurd as to be laughable. Not a snowball’s chance in hell of Romney winning 3rd party when he couldn’t win with all the resources of the GOPe at his disposal 4 years ago, not to mention, 3rd party runs in the U.S. have been complete jokes during modern election history.

What is absurd is commenting on something you haven't even read. I specifically said he wouldn't win the vote and would come in 3rd. His ONLY chance would be if the election was decided by the House of Reps State Delegations. No wonder you aren't aware of Romney's 3rd party flirtation here.

[GLDNGUN]

How? What’s the math? He wins Ut and Idaho form Trump? And....

Because you have to win MORE than half of the electoral votes. Let's say Romney takes Utah and Idaho, and the other 2 candidates split the remaining electoral votes down the middle and tie, or maybe one candidate has a couple more than the other. NOBODY would have 270+ electoral votes. Then it goes to Congress. It's even possible for it to go to Congress with only 2 people running. If they tie, neither would have 270+.

[going hot]

If he replaced Hillary on the ballot, maybe he may get a few votes.

[GLDNGUN]

Failing this way would garentee his end in the GOP.

That is why he is the perfect candidate for the NeverTrumps. Since when has Romney been loyal to the GOP and conservative causes? He would rationalize that he is doing this to SAVE the party and the country. He's never running for any office again either way, so he is not too concerned about his "end in the GOP".

[GLDNGUN]

Idiotic. By this logic I’m still in the running to make the cut for the Denver Broncos QB slot. It is still very possible structurally.

Oh really? So in the tryouts, you think you would finish in the top 3? If so, you should get off your computer and call John Elway.

[GLDNGUN]

How do you imagine he would get on the ballot?

I don't know each state's processes. I'm sure he would get on every ballot that he could, but ultimately he wouldn't have to be on EVERY state to try this or even for it to work as described.

[Lurkinanloomin]

A Mormon cult thing, in other words.
They would destroy the nation to vote for Mitt.

[GLDNGUN]

Instead of worrying about things we can’t control, let’s just work on defeating Hillary. That is in our control.

Hillary may not be in our control either. I fully expect her to be indicted and for Joe Biden to replace her as the nominee.

[GLDNGUN]

Plain and simple, Romney will split the vote. He knows it. He would rather see Hillary win and have uniparty business as usual continue in DC. But Romney has zero chances of running third party and winning. And, as I said, he knows it. Hell, he couldn’t even win a two man race. He certainly won’t win a three way race splitting the Republican vote.

Yes, he would split the vote. Maybe you should actually READ what I wrote, you know, past the first sentence. In the scenario I described he DOESN"T "win" the vote in November, but actually comes in 3rd. It's what happens after that where things could get interesting.

[GLDNGUN]

Utah and Idaho are irrelevant. For this to be plausible, you have to come up with a state that he lost to Obama that he could take from Hillary, with Trump in the picture. Such a state does not exist. But yes, he could deny Trump the Presidency.

Huh? Uh, no. Let's say Trump wins every state Romney did in 2012 (206 EVs) except Utah & Idaho (10 EVs) so now he's down to 196 EVs. Trump also wins some states that Romney lost in 2012. For example, say Trump takes FL, VA, OH and NH, which would then give him a total of 260 EVs. The dem nominee would finish with 268 EVs and Romney with the 10 from Utah and Idaho making them QUITE "relevant". Since nobody would have 270 EVs, it would then go to Congress.

[GLDNGUN]

Like it or not the GOP will never endorse anyone not on the GOP ticket and Romney would be a bridge too far

I didn't say the GOP would endorse Romney. I said SOME GOP politicians would. Several have already come out and said they would not for Trump or Hillary. Read between the lines. They are begging for a 3rd party candidate that they could vote for. Romney fits the bill.

[GLDNGUN]

It’s quite clear that the House of Representatives of the 115th Congress, should the choice fall to them, would not elect Donald J. Trump as President.

That would be my fear as well, even if Trump had the most popular and electoral votes.

[gogeo]

I wouldn't say it's clear at all. It seems obvious anyone connected with the effort has effectively ended their political career.

It's our respect for the rule of law restraining our actions. If we witness a banana republic stunt like that, we'll conclude all bets are off. Then it's not just a question of whether their careers will survive.

[StAnDeliver]

"Romney/Cruz? Two never Trump peas in a pod. Do sore loser laws apply to VP slot also?"

Yes, he could not run in anywhere on a presidential ticket in Texas. To be fair, 'sore loser' laws have been stricken or bypassed in all but two states. But Texas being Texas, you know they mean it, and they would defend the law (or tie up the challenge past the election) - even from a 3rd party run by a 'home son'.

[xzins]

We already know that Romney does not cut into the liberal vote. He will cut into Trump’s vote so that NEITHER of them win the states that Trump is supposed to get while Clinton wins all of those she is supposed to get.

IOW, the ONLY beneficiary of this plan is Hillary Clinton.

[kvanbrunt2]

Romney winning 3rd party when he couldn’t win with all the resources of the GOPe >>>> the sceanio is no winning the third party but denying the two a 270 then going to congress. where the lackies are the delegates now. the electoral college already voted and this would be after dec 14 when they vote.